Noordam and Spirit of Tasmania Evacuated After Bomb Scare November 20, 2015

As Noordam and Spirit of Tasmania docked in Melbourne, Australia a bomb scare forced the evacuation.

Holland America Line Noordam and Spirit of Tasmania were both evacuated by Victoria Police on Friday, November 20, 2015, after bomb sniffing dogs alert and a suspicious package was found at Station Pier in Melbourne, Australia shorted after noon.

The suspicious package was in a load of groceries being delivered to the MS Noordam. The groceries were unloaded on a pallet on the docks, a small box on one of the pallets cause a police dog to alert. A second dog was called in to inspect the pallet again.

Port of Melbourne Corporation chief executive Nick Easy said the pier was in "lockdown".

Spirit of Tasmania has a capacity of 1,400 passengers in addition to 500 cars.

Noordam carries 1,924 passengers and 800 crew.

Victoria Police's bomb response unit cleared both ships to depart later in the afternoon. Both Noordam and Spirit of Tasmania were scheduled to depart at 1730 hours.